Comparing the Results of 4 Different Hair Growth Treatments

Losing hair is never fun, so seeing your thick mane begin to wither might cause you to enter into panic mode. You may start researching hair growth treatments with frenzy and easily become frustrated with the plethora of information you’re bound to come across: which hair growth treatments should you use? Which ones are more effective? Which ones will give you a larger increase of hair growth?

But have no fear– no need to put your life on pause and drown yourself in lengthy treatises on hair loss and its treatment. We’ve done all the research for you, and compared 4 different hair growth treatments.

1. FINASTERIDE

Finasteride is only available by prescription and should NEVER be used by women, especially if they are pre-menopausal. Finasteride focuses on minimizing the production of DHT, a male hormone infamously known as the number one culprit for hair loss. Since women have hormone levels that drastically differ from men, severe health problems can result in women should they start taking finasteride. Despite this, some doctors have been known to controversially prescribe finasteride to post-menopausal women. That being said, and putting aside the abundance of potential unpleasant/harmful side effects (think rashes, allergic reactions, and decreased sexual ability), men that use finasteride, according to a particular clinical study, can expect an average increase of hair count of 12.2% over the course of 12 months And don’t forget your 12.2% increase will scatter into the wind should you one day stop taking your DHT blocker.

2. MINOXIDIL

Minoxidil is an over-the-counter (OTC) solution designed to treat androgenetic alopecia (genetic baldness) in both men and most recently women. If you’re lucky, you’ll make it through minoxidil treatments with only scalp stinging, burning and dryness, while skipping over the potential (and more serious!) side effects that include unwanted body hair, along with dizziness and chest pain, just to name a few.

So how effective is it really? Discounting all side effect possibilities and the shedding that often results, one clinical study claims that over a period time of 8 months, minoxidil can boost your hair count by approximately 15.4%.

Beware: you’ll need to use minoxidil for the rest of your life and apply it on your scalp every day, else your new hair will rapidly shed away.

3. PLATELET RICH PLASMA INJECTIONS

Another, newer hair growth treatment currently administered in some hair restoration clinics consists of Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) injections. Platelet-Rich Plasma is a concentration of platelets found in the blood and which are critical for clotting. Platelets release bioactive proteins (growth factors) which gives them regeneration capabilities.

In the case of treating hair loss, PRP is collected from a patient’s blood and injected into scalp areas affected by alopecia. Results vary; patients who are good candidates and have no medical contraindications (such as platelet dysfunction syndrome, anti coagulant therapy, and/or blood disorders) can see hair restoration results between 1 to 3 months. One particular study has reported a 31% increase of follicular density over a period of 2 months.

Due to the fact that PRP is harvested by a patient’s own blood, PRP injections for hair loss can be considered a natural solution designed to work effectively with the body’s own mechanism; however there is no consensus for the frequency of PRP injections or the concentration of platelets. Furthermore, as a relatively new hair loss therapy, this treatment is not backed up by decades of clinical trials and is still considered somewhat experimental.

4. LASER PHOTOTHERAPY

A fourth hair growth treatment involves harnessing the power of laser light. You may know it as Low-Level Laser Therapy (LLLT), Laser Phototherapy (LPT) or laser hair therapy. In this case, coherent laser light is generated from a device for a long-enough period of time (usually about 20 minutes) for the lasers to work not their magic but their science.

A particular LPT clinical study indicates a hair count increase of 39% over 4 months. Unlike minoxidil, finasteride, and PRP injections, there are virtually no contraindications to undergoing laser hair growth therapy; it’s also been around for decades, first accidentally discovered by Hungarian Physician Dr. Endre Mester back in the 1960s, and there are hundreds of published clinical studies that examine its efficacy.

Amongst all possible four options, you’ll find that choosing an optimal laser hair growth device to treat hair loss is the best way to go. It’s affordable, effective, has no side effects as a natural solution and will never interrupt your lifestyle if you pick a high-tech, wearable and cordless device.

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